Dear Friends and Family,

METEOROLOGICALLY SPEAKING

The lyrics of a song in "The Pirates of Penzance" go like this: "The weather, the weather, let's talk about the weather." It's nothing like Penzance here. This isn't Kansas , either, Toto. We've been enjoying the cool weather lately, only 95 degrees. We have thad three rain showers in two weeks. The rainy season is beginning. The rain dripped in only one place in the house. That was a blessing. The one moderating factor of this benefice was it hit me in the square of the back or the sternum depending on how I decided to face the challenge.

DUNKING IN THE MEKONG

How was your Easter? This year Easter was at the same time as the Cambodian New Year. We planned our baptism at Kampong Cham for Easter. About twenty people participated. One of them was a lady who went to the women's retreat with Yuko. Some children want to be baptized, too, but we need to have some special classes on their level, and get the permission of their parents before we proceed. We have a special fund for Bibles, so each participant received a Bible. They cost five dollars each which is quite a lot of money here in Cambodia . The factory workers at the garment factories only get forty dollars a month for working over sixty hours a week. We bought some new chairs (plastic) for the church and carried them to the riverside. The Mekong river is low now so there are many ponds in the bed. We had our service at one of these. It was the same place we baptized three people at our first baptism in Kampong Cham, about fifteen months ago.

YOUTH CAMP

We just had youth camp last week and over two hundred young people from about a dozen churches , outreaches and fellowships joined in. We took a group of fourteen from Kampong Cham and Suong. It was a six hour drive each way. We're not talking four lane highway with the rules of accord ascribed to by licensed drivers of the West. We are speaking of one lane in each direction with an assortment of vehicles that move at various speeds, the slowest and sometimes most erratic, the Cebu cow. Listed by speed, the water buffalo would be next followed by bicycles, scooters, pre-twentieth century trucks, cars, and Land Cruisers. It is a tiring, albeit invigorating, affair. Camp was a great success. Everyone was encouraged in the Faith and we had a good time. Dance is a cultural form of popularity here. Our singing was accompanied by jumping and dancing in a variety of steps. The missionaries were brought to the front to initiate their interpretations in choreography. One Filipino held his head as one would when suffering a breakdown. I introduced them to the knee bobbing Charleston . It was moving to say the least.

KING GEORGE EXILED

We have some rather large, fat lizards here. They are very loud when declaring their territory, which happens three times during the evening hours on the average. I should apprise you of a twelve year oid who has come to stay with us, before I go further. This twelve year old is Japanese and runs on 220 volts. I'm not being figurative, it is an air conditioner. Well, the lizards of mention like wooden homes, but as some of the cracks in our bedroom, where the twelve year old is mounted, are now filled with a variety of stuffings, the former lizard of residence packed up and went to another corner of the estate more conducive to sleeping--our sleeping, that is. Oh yes, why the King George? Well, Yuko, for some strange reason holds no interest in a lizard that could carry off a part of one's anatomy while one sleeps. I suggested we call our resident, George, so he would seem less threatening. Yuko came up with the King part of the mix. He still holds court three times a night, but not next to our boudoir.

SUONG

We've been having service in Suon village, but I learned that the household we've been meeting at no longer wants to host us. They are not Christians, their nephew is. We'll find out soon if the small group of faithful are interested in having a meeting and if there is a place to meet. When I dropped our campers off after camp I was stopped by a group of revelers who were drinking rather heavily. As I greeted them they asked for money and someone relieved me of a tank of water that was sitting in the back of the truck. Please pray for less spirited encounters in the future. UPDATE: We have a place to meet, so the Suong work continues.

SCHOOL

We will be beginning classes here in several languages in the weeks to come. English, Japanese, and Khmai. Many folks here cannot afford school of any kind so we will be having very cheap classes as a service to the neighborhood. We need to get a license. Please pray for all the details. UPDATE: We had our first class this weekend. Yuko taught English to about ten little ones.

DEVELOPMENT

Yuko has several girls from the church coming over to work on a project to make Bible covers. It's a fairly involved process using several different fabrics of different sizes. This project raises money for the workers and the pastoral fund. The Cambodian fabrics are just beautiful. We haven't got any ready yet. You can check out other items on the web at http://heavenlytreasures.org/reaksmei/

INVITATION TO TEA

Tuck dai kroit chmau is an acquired taste. It is iced tea with lime and usually a near lethal serving of white sugar. All this is yours for twenty cents. I go to the shop and sit with a language book four or five times a week while enjoying this concoction. Like to join me? We could use people who would like to do something different for a year. We need native speakers to teach English. It is a real help to the local people and the missionaries. It frees us for other ministry work and time to study the Cambodian language. Interested in an adventure? I just had lotus fruit for breakfast, but Western menus are available for conservative or homesick palates. If you feel the Lord directing you this way, get in touch with Deb at the VISA office:

DECEPTION WONDROUS

There was NO development meeting today! It was a ruse. I returned home after being sent for some fish that arrived without the need of my help. I should have sensed something fishy. Upon my return, peals of "Happy Birthday" met me three-quarters of the way up the stairs. A dozen of our young people and a few older ones had come to celebrate with me. Some folks have all the fun. What a God we serve!

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Have a glorious Spring.

Love, Chris and Yuko

Ps. I will be sending pictures soon.